Chapter 288: Dominic Crawford Went In Too

Although Candice Tate was a soft, adorable little girl, her small face was now tense, her presence overwhelming, giving her an air of authority.

After spending so much time together, everyone knew Candice Tate’s Superpower was formidable. Seeing that she was truly angry, they didn’t dare say anything more.

Although they might have been able to defeat Candice Tate if they teamed up, she had Sierra Sullivan, Jayce, and Nathan Thorne by her side.

And not a single one of those three was to be trifled with.

Not to mention, Nathan Thorne was the only one with a Healing Ability, so he was not someone they could afford to offend.

Seeing them all fall silent, Candice Tate was still a little dissatisfied.

‘These people… they were all so self-righteous when they were talking behind someone’s back just a moment ago.’

‘Why have they all gone quiet?’

‘If you have the guts to gossip, why don’t you have the guts to fight me?’

Candice Tate huffed, but she didn’t say anything else. Instead, she reached out and took Sierra Sullivan’s hand.

“Don’t be angry. They’re all talking nonsense! Let’s not stoop to their level!”

She was only a five- or six-year-old girl, yet she was comforting her like a grown-up.

A warmth spread through Sierra Sullivan’s heart, and the corners of her lips curled up unconsciously.

“Okay! I’ll listen to Candice Tate. I’m not angry!”

‘With such a little sweetheart by my side, why would I bother getting angry with those people!’

「A day passed in the blink of an eye.」

Early the next morning, Dr. Hayes once again emerged from the metal door.

This time, Dr. Hayes took twenty people inside.

Every day that followed, Dr. Hayes would take twenty people inside.

There were many people in their group, but the number wasn’t exceptionally large.

With twenty people being taken away each day, the number of those waiting outside dwindled at a visible rate.

After more than a hundred people had been taken away, someone finally realized something was wrong.

“Didn’t Dr. Hayes say he would let people out after a few days? It’s been so many days, so how come not a single person has come out?”

“Maybe it’s to stabilize their enhanced Superpowers?”

“Can’t they be enhanced out here? We all know how to do it—you just absorb a Crystal Core. Why do they have to stay inside?”

“That’s right!”

“Everything we know has come from Dr. Hayes himself, but we haven’t seen anything with our own eyes. I’m starting to feel like something is off.”

“Stop talking… now that you mention it, I’m getting a weird feeling too! You don’t think something happened to those people, do you?”

“What could happen? You don’t think Dr. Hayes would actually harm them, do you? What would he gain from that?”

“Who knows, but I just have a bad feeling about all this…”

The people murmured amongst themselves, their voices not particularly quiet.

Sierra Sullivan wasn’t sitting very close to them, but she still heard their conversation clearly.

Nathan Thorne snorted. “These people are only realizing something’s wrong now? They’re so damn stupid!”

Sierra Sullivan remained noncommittal.

‘They were foolish, sure, but it was understandable.’

‘Dr. Hayes held a high position in Subterra and had always maintained a good reputation. It was natural for many to trust him unconditionally.’

‘It wasn’t really their fault for not having any suspicions before.’

‘And it wasn’t too late for them to realize something was wrong now.’

‘I just wonder what’s happened to all the people who went inside with Dr. Hayes.’

Just as Sierra Sullivan was lost in thought, she saw Hector Grant walking over.

Hector Grant’s brows were furrowed, the relaxed air from the past few days completely gone.

He had barely sat down before he spoke, unable to wait.

“You guys think there’s something wrong with Dr. Hayes, too, don’t you?”

Instead of answering, Sierra Sullivan countered with a question. “What do you think, Captain Grant?”

Hector Grant’s frown deepened, but he said nothing.

He was conflicted, two voices arguing endlessly in his mind, leaving him at a loss for words.

‘Of course, he didn’t want to believe that there was something wrong with Dr. Hayes.’

‘But given the current situation, to say there was nothing wrong would be simply deluding himself.’

‘What in the world should I do?’

After a long pause, Hector Grant finally spoke.

“Tomorrow! When Dr. Hayes comes out tomorrow, I’m going to ask him what’s going on. The situation outside is grim. We can’t drag this out any longer.”

‘It’s a crisis both inside and out.’

‘One wrong move, and every single one of us could die here.’

‘As the leader of this operation, I have to find a way to solve this.’

‘It’s a good thing everyone’s attention is on Dr. Hayes, leaving them no energy to worry about the situation outside.’

‘Otherwise, the fact that we’re surrounded by zombies and Aberrant Beasts would’ve been impossible to hide by now.’

The thought of all this gave Hector Grant a headache.

‘I originally thought this operation would only be a little dangerous.’

‘But now? How could this possibly be described as *a little* dangerous?’

‘This is like dancing on a knife’s edge.’

“Oh, right.” Hector Grant rubbed the bridge of his nose. “That old friend of yours… he’s in there, too…”

Hearing this, Sierra Sullivan froze.

‘An old friend?’

‘Who?’

‘Dominic Crawford?!’

For the past few days, Sierra Sullivan hadn’t paid much attention to the people Dr. Hayes led inside.

That was why she had no idea Dominic Crawford had gone in with them.

Hearing Hector Grant’s words now, she was utterly stunned.

‘Dominic Crawford went inside?’

Sierra Sullivan was shocked, but she said nothing.

Nathan Thorne, however, couldn’t hold back.

“Captain Grant, when did Dominic Crawford go in?”

Hector Grant seemed surprised that Sierra’s group knew nothing about it, but he answered Nathan Thorne’s question anyway.

“The day before yesterday, I believe.”

Nathan Thorne’s gaze immediately shot to the large metal door.

‘As of today, Dominic Crawford has been inside for three days.’

‘A lot can happen in three days!’

‘What’s happened to Dominic Crawford?’

“Don’t you all worry too much,” Hector Grant offered, his attempt at reassurance falling flat. “He’s probably fine.”

Hector Grant was a capable man, but he’d never really been one to comfort others.

His words of comfort weren’t much different from saying nothing at all.

Hector Grant left soon after.

Nathan Thorne ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “What on earth was he thinking, going in there! He’s not an idiot. How could he not see that something was wrong with this whole situation?”

Even though they had completely cut ties with Dominic Crawford after what had happened…

…they had been friends once. The thought that Dominic Crawford’s life was now on the line left Nathan Thorne with a complicated mix of emotions.

Jayce shook his head gently. “It’s probably not that he didn’t know. He was just unwilling to accept his limits and wanted to take a gamble.”

Sometimes, if you wanted to become stronger, you had to risk it all.

If you succeeded, everything would be great.

But if you failed…

Sierra Sullivan stared at the metal door, her gaze dark.

‘A part of me wants to break down that door right now.’

‘I want to get inside and see what the hell Dr. Hayes is up to!’

The thought flashed through Sierra Sullivan’s mind but was just as quickly suppressed.

‘The situation inside is a mystery. I can’t be that impulsive!’

‘At the very least, I have to wait until Dr. Hayes comes out tomorrow!’

‘No matter what, I have to find out what Dr. Hayes is really up to tomorrow.’

That night, many people couldn’t sleep.

Many of them simply stared anxiously at the door.

The moment they saw the door slowly swing open, everyone shot to their feet, assuming defensive stances.

Dr. Hayes stepped out from the doorway. Behind him, more than a hundred people filed out one after another—the very same ones he had taken inside.

But unlike before, their eyes were vacant, and they seemed… not quite normal.